Make your own nylon Apple Watch band for $5

If you have some minor skills and patience, you can save yourself about $40. Photo: Okinawan Matt (via YouTube)

We got our first look at a new line of straps for the Apple Watch this week. But if you’re a little bit handy and want a cool weekend project, you can make your own nylon Apple Watch band for about a tenth of the cost of buying one directly.

The new series of Woven Nylon bands that Apple showed off at its event on Monday were nice and all, but what if you didn’t see a color that struck you? One enterprising YouTuber posted a tutorial that shows how to get one in just about any style you want by repurposing some cheap, existing watch straps.

Check it out below.

Poster Okinawan Matt found some super-cheap, NATO bands for three or four dollars online. The way they’re designed means that you can’t use them as-is because they’ll block the heart-rate sensor on the back of the watch face. But it just takes a bit of modification.

Basically, you have to cut this band to fit and then attach some Apple Watch brackets. Matt says you can grab these for a couple bucks on eBay. After that, it’s just some cutting and sewing, and then you’ll have a fancy new band for way cheaper than the $49 the Apple-branded Woven Nylon straps sell for. Plus, you made it yourself, which is always a nice feeling.

And if you want to get really fancy, Matt even shows you how to make a NATO-style band that puts the buckle on the side of your wrist to make it more comfortable for sitting at a desk. He pretty much covers everything.